MONTREAL – Calling Bell Canada anti-competitive, the Coalition of Quebec Internet Service Providers said it’s “deeply concerned” with Bell Canada’s decision to try and keep high tariffs on “naked DSL” wholesale service.
In April 2005, the Coalition had submitted comments to the CRTC in regards to Bell Canada Tariff Notice 6862, asking that rates charged by Bell Canada to wholesalers for naked DSL (which refers to DSL service without the local phone line) “should allow them to remain a viable alternative to Bell Canada’s Sympatico while remaining reasonably profitable,” says the group.
"Bell Canada failed to address the main concern of both the Coalition and all Quebec and Ontario ISPs, which is Bell Canada’s anticompetitive retail price reduction to its Sympatico users, allowing them to meet the overwhelmingly aggressive offers of the cable companies," explains Coalition spokesperson Sophie Léger, Inter.net Canada president. "It is profoundly unreasonable from Bell Canada to refuse to collaborate with its wholesalers. The current charges are anything but fair and do not foster a collaborative environment.”
By imposing these wholesale charges for naked DSL, Bell Canada has broken the rule allowing its retail prices to be unregulated, which is that Bell retail prices are unregulated conditionally to Bell giving access to its infrastructure to competition at a fair and reasonable price, says the CQISP.
In the light of Bell’s refusal to substantially reduce and even cancel the naked DSL wholesale charges, the Coalition urges the CRTC to regulate Bell Canada’s wholesaling policies in order to avoid further anticompetitive practices.
Since Bell Canada has decided to take a hard line, the Coalition will intensify its actions to ensure that small ISPs stay in a position to provide consumers with a viable alternative to large telecommunications and cable enterprises. The Coalition is considering several measures including filing formal complaints to the CRTC and to the Competition Bureau, it said.
The Coalition of Quebec Internet Service Providers, a group formed of 15 Quebec ISPs, has come together to defend the best interests of consumers and smaller Internet service providers.
The Coalition believes consumers are better served in a market promoting fair competition. The Coalition’s mandate, therefore, is to advocate for CRTC regulations to end the problems encountered by unsustainable competition in the Internet and telecommunications market today, as well as to raise public awareness on issues ultimately affecting us all.
